Of Witches and Wizards
by Paopu-Destinies
Summary: Magic wasn't real, or at least that's what I thought. That is until a Witch's spell goes horribly wrong. Now I've got to find some way to help save this "Goddess Tree" by ringing 5 different bells and by summoning the "Harvest King." But what I want to know is why I was the one brought here for the job and why this town seems so familiar...(will be ChaseOC or GillOC) A Self Insert.
1. Prologue

**Paopu-Destinies**: Yeah so I've had this idea floating around here in my head for some time and have now finally decided to write it down. It will be OC x One of the bachelors cause I have yet to decide who lol, probably either ChaseOC or GillOC, I'm undecided :p

It will also be CandaceLuke (because I just ADORE them as a couple~) and I'll possibly be changing up the other couples too, I don't know yet. If anyone has any couple suggestions feel free to message me about them. Because other than CandaceLuke, I'm at a loss for pairing up the other couples... Was thinking maybe LunaBo? I don't know why, but I find them horribly cute together. But yeah, besides those two couples I have no other ideas lol.

I'll also be taking the romance slow, (It takes like...a whole season just to get someone up to 2 or 3 hearts, obviously the romance will be slow lol besides, it's not fun when you rush it ;D )

I'm working on character development first. (which goes for all the characters.) And working in general at writing in 1st POV. This is also somewhat of a Self-Insert story. Well, more like a girl from our world that suddenly finds herself in the HM universe. But I will be trying my best not to make her a Mary-sue.

**Disclaimer**: I do **NOT **own Harvest Moon: Animal Parade or any of the Harvest Moon games. All I own is my OC Kandace.

**Rated T **for slight cussing.

Reviews are much appreciated, and so are critiques.

Enjoy~

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**Prologue**

Who would have thought that magic was real? That witches and wizards were real? That magic spells, potions, and crystal balls were used for an actual purpose rather than just being used in a phoney practice to make a quick cheap profit?

Who would believe that they would actually work?

That they _could _work?

I, for one, did not believe in such things. I did not believe it to be anything more than a simple trick of the eye, or in the case for potions and crystal balls, a bunch of baloney and a quick scam for money. But hey, that was just me.

But tell me this; What are you supposed to think when you suddenly find yourself in a completely different place?

Or in a completely different _world_?

What are you supposed to say?

What are you supposed to do?

What are you even supposed to _think _when you find out that it was all thanks to some Witch's spell that had went horribly wrong?

Seriously, what are you supposed to think of that? I'm at a loss here...

Did I hit my head and somehow slip into a coma?

Is this just some sort of whacked up dream that my mind has come up with to fill the time until I wake up?

If it was though...why did it feel so _real_?

Magic spells, witches, wizards, and goddess trees...

Lord help me.

All I can say is that I **hope **this is a dream.

Because I'm all out of any other plausible explanations...


	2. Chapter One

******Paopu-Destinies:** So here's the first chapter, sorry if I made the Witch Princess too mean QAQ I just think that she would be upset if she worked really hard on a complicated spell to help save the goddess tree only for it to backfire and bring her a lousy human girl instead lol

**Disclaimer:** I do **not** own Harvest Moon: Animal Parade or any of their characters, plots, or all that good stuff...sadly QAQ thoughIwishIdid. All I own is my OC Kandace.

Read and Review please~

Enjoy~

* * *

**Chapter One**

Falling.

I was falling...

My eyes snapped open.

_I was_ _falling?_

Why was I falling?!

"W-what-?" My arms flailed as I desperately tried to catch myself, to grab a hold of anything to break my fall. I don't know how I ended up in this situation. One moment I had been sleeping soundly in my bed, and then next thing I know is that I'm falling through the air.

But it was short lived. And it only took a fleeting moment before my body hit and then completely submerged into cold, murky water. And I wasn't joking when I said that it was cold, the water was absolutely bone chilling _freezing_. I could already feel my body stiffening up and slowly shutting down because of the sudden temperature drop. Why was it so _cold_?

I gasped, though I instantly regretted the action. I couldn't breathe. And it wasn't just due to the fact that I was completely submerged underneath the water. The force of the hit that my body took as it connected with the water felt like someone had literally rammed a battering ram into my stomach. It took me more then a few seconds to recollect myself before the natural instinct to _not drown _kicked in and I quickly began kicking and pawing at the water, willing my already burning lungs to hold out just a little while longer. Just till I made it to the surface.

The moment I broke the surface I was gasping, spluttering, and coughing for starved air. I wasn't necessarily a bad swimmer, on the contrary I was pretty good. But I could never hold my breath for more than a few seconds under water. I got lucky that the water I was dropped into wasn't too deep, I would have been screwed otherwise.

"A human!?" A shrill voice shrieked...from above me?

I frowned, blinking and rubbing my eyes to get rid of any excess water before turning and trying to see where the voice had come from. It had sounded close...

There was a huff and after blinking a few more times and then squinting, I could make out a blurry outline of...of a woman? A woman standing not too far from me on a dock. I felt my stomach begin to churn uncomfortably. She didn't...look all too pleased to see me...

Even in the darkness and even with the distance between the both of us the most distinct feature I noticed right off the bat about this woman were her eyes. They were a beautiful, bright golden color that were practically glowing in the darkness. But wait...people didn't have golden eyes...right? Unless they were contacts of course...but even then, would they glow like that? It didn't seem right.

Then the golden eyes narrowed, and I could tell immediately that she was glaring at me and that I was right...she wasn't pleased about me being here.

"You did this." She accused bluntly. "You're the reason why my spell messed up!"

I blinked.

Um, wait what?

Scoffing, she crossed her arms over her chest before walking a few steps closer towards me. "Don't look at me like that mortal," she spat. "Don't try and look like it wasn't your fault."

Um.

I frowned, blinking again. It wasn't?

I glanced up at her, quirking a brow. Last I checked, there wasn't any sort of body of water beneath my bed. I would know, I have enough bumps and bruises as it was from hitting the hardwood floor due to falling out of my bed. Wait, mortal? Why was she calling me a mortal, what did she think _she _was?

Before I could even open my mouth she had cut me off. "My spell was brilliant, foolproof!" She turned to send another glare my way. "And I don't know how you did it, but you have single handily messed it up, ugh!" She shrieked again, her hands flying up in frustration. "I hate you humans, you're always messing everything up!"

"Hey-"

"No," again, she cut me off. "You get no say in this, human. My spell was supposed to help save the divine goddess tree and instead, I end up with you." She eyed me critically, disgust filtering through her eyes as she sized me up. "A pitiful, fat, weakling, mortal human girl. You're a failure, a mistake, and altogether of no use to me. You could do nothing to save the divine tree, of that I am certain." She stated these facts so ruthlessly, and so bluntly.

_The nerve of this woman-_

I jutted my chin out, holding my head up high as I mustered up my darkest glare before throwing it up at her. Just what right did she think she had to say such things?. Just _who_ did she think she was?

Pft, I'd humor the bitch.

"Yeah," I snorted. "Because your _oh-so-brilliant-and-foolproof-spell _was going to work wonders in the first place. You don't save trees with '_magic_,'" I air quoted. "You save them with proper nourishment and care. God, what is wrong with you? You honestly believed that magic spells would save your precious tree?" I let out another snort. What a nutter. I mean, come on. Spells? What was she, a _witch_? Puh-lease. As if. She was just some loony nutter that happened to find me on her property.

She turned on me so fast, I didn't even have the time to scream as I was suddenly lifted up out of the murky water and thrust high up into the cold night air. Though, I did scream when I realized how I was being held up. The woman before me had her arm thrust out in front of her, her fist clamped shut as if she were clutching onto a fist full of somebody's shirt.

That somebody was me.

And that was my shirt.

But there was no hand holding me up.

Just the thin air.

_Just the thin air._

This...this wasn't possible. How was she doing this? It was illogical! Completely illogical! Magic wasn't real, it was fake! It. Was not. Possible. Yet this woman...I gulped, palling as I watched as her hands began to quiver an shake violently. There were no strings holding me up. No invisable boxes or hooks. There was nothing holding and keeping me up suspened in this air. This woman was not fake. Nor was...nor was her magic. This was **real**.

"Magic **will **save the divine tree human," she spat with a hiss. "Mark my words."

Then, as quickly as she had scooped me up, she promptly swiped her arm to the left and unclenched her hand, which resulted in sending me flying through the air (once again,) before landing with a hard thud as I hit the cold, splintered wooden floor of the dock.

The sound of her footsteps made me quickly roll over and onto my side before struggling to push myself up into a sitting position. The sounds of her footfalls stopped, and as I looked up to meet her golden gaze I was happy to note that she kept a reasonable amount of distance between the both of us.

Again, her eyes narrowed at me. "As I have said before, you are of no use to me. And as of now, you are not my problem anymore."

_She _was the one who brought _me _here, how was I **not** her problem?

I opened my mouth to speak but she cut me off with a glare and a quick swipe of her hand.

"No, human. You will not speak to me again. I have heard enough out of you. Now, do you see that forest entrance right there behind you?" She gestured to a small, practically hidden archway in the trees behind me.

I gave her a small nod, doing my best to hold back a glare.

"Good," she sighed, running a hand through her hair, which I daftly took notice to be a glimmering silver as it faintly shined under the moon's light.

"The forest can be a little tricky at times, but I'm sure that you can manage. The other humans seem to get through it just fine and some of them are even far more denser than you." She stated with a shrug.

My eyes narrowed. Was that supposed to be some sort of compliment?

"Anyways," she continued. "You'll go through that entrance right there and go through the forest and eventually you'll come to another archway and then to a door." She looked to make sure that I had got that bit of information down before continuing.

"Go through that door and you'll find a farm...or maybe it was a ranch...?" She frowned, before shrugging it off. "Either way, the place isn't too far from the forest entrance. You should be able to see it when you make it out of the forest anyways. It's a few miles walk from the forest but hey," she shrugged again. "At least you'll be able to be with your kind."

I opened my mouth again, to...well, to _thank _her. Even though every fiber of my being wanted not to. For her behalf though, I would. After all, I wasn't really expecting her to help me out like..at all. But, then she went and cut me off. Again.

"And I want you out of my hair. You humans are so annoying and quite frankly, I don't feel like I should have to deal with your kind."

Well, she could forget getting that thanks now.

"Once you leave I can start working on another spell, one that will **work**." She stated determinedly. "Oh, and once you leave, don't come back." Her eyes narrowed at me once again and I could plainly see the threat that lay hidden in her words.

_Don't come back or I'll kill you._

Or well, something along those lines I'm sure.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and merely nodded at the witch.

She returned it. "Good."

And then she left.

I don't know how long I sat there on that old rickety dock, wringing and squeezing what water was left out of my semi-soaked clothes and hair. Hours, minutes? Honestly, I had no idea. All I knew was how much I didn't want to go into the forest. Dealing with a witch that needed an extreme anger management course (along with some bi-polar medications) sounded a lot less painful, and easier than a _lovely _stroll through the forest. But eventually I shakily stood up, made my way over to the hidden archway in the trees, and took my first few steps into the darkened woods, nearly shrieking again as a door; one that hadn't even existed moments ago, was suddenly shut closed behind me on it's own accord. I blamed the witch for that one.

Oh _god_.

I weakly glanced around my surroundings.

The were so many trees...and they were all so...so ginormous! At least back at the witch's place I had the moon's light to see by. But here in the forest...I groaned. The trees were so tall and their leaves were so thick and dense that they completely blocked out what little light the moon could have had to offer me.

I was so screwed.

If I died, that witch could consider her ass haunted. That's all I had to say.


	3. Chapter Two

**Paopu-Destinies**: So here is chapter two, (I didn't think that I would finish it this fast :p ) The first few chapters are always the hardest to get out it seems QAQ Anywho, I hope that you all enjoy it. I'd like to hear what you all think, so drop me a PM or a review, and let me know how the story is thus far. The ball will really get rolling in the next chapter or so.

Also, I know that Jack isn't originally in Animal Parade but in my story he will be from Castanet, it all ties in with the farmland that's provided originally to the playable character.

And a special thanks to **Ulyss **for faving and following the story ;;u;;

**Disclaimer**: I still do **not **own Harvest Moon: Animal Parade or ANY of the other Harvest Moon games. All I own is the idea for this story and my OC Kandace.

Read and Review please~

Enjoy~

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"_The forest can be a little tricky at times, but I'm sure that you can manage. The other humans seem to get through it just fine and some of them are even far more denser than you_."

The forest can be a little tricky sometimes.

But I'm sure that you can manage.

I snorted. HA!

Please, that witch didn't know who she was talking to. Didn't she know that I was the _Master _at getting myself turned around and utterly, hopelessly lost? Seriously. I mean, I still got lost when it came to running into town for a doctor's appointment or when when I had to go to the dentist. And that was in my hometown. Which was saying a lot, sadly.

More than a few hours had passed since the beginning of my little, "_field trip_," into the woods and I was getting a little more than fed up. Not only was I beyond lost at this point but it seemed that all I was capable of doing was walking around in circles...and getting myself lost even further.

With each tree or rock that I passed my already growing despair only deepened. And I had to wonder if I was even going in the right direction of the forest's exit or if I really was just walking around in circles. Would I make it out of here? Would I ever be able to leave this forest? It was frustrating not to know the answers to those questions.

It made me want to scream.

It seriously made me want to scream.

Wearily looking around, all the of trees that surrounded me seemed to blur and come together, all of them proving to look eerily the same. Maybe it was because it was still dark out, or maybe it was just because I generally sucked with directions. But honestly I had absolutely no freaking clue where the hell I was or if I had even passed through this area before.

For all I knew, I could have passed by this particular cluster of trees or even by this lumpy old pile of rocks before. Hell, there was even a good chance that I had passed them on more then just one occasion at this point! How the heck was I supposed to know? It was still too bloody dark out and all these rocks and tress managed to look exactly the same when under the shadows.

Groaning, I dejectedly made my way over to the stupid pile of rocks before glumly sitting down onto one. While I busied myself with rubbing my arms in a desperate attempt to try and warm myself up, I spared a hopeful glance up to the treetops, looking to see if maybe there might be any clearing or any open patches in the over abundant, dense growth of leaves above me. Even a small open patch would help. At least then I could tell for sure what time it really was. But sadly there were none to be found and I knew that I was going to be stuck in the dark.

I sighed, running a dirty hand over my face. If it hadn't been for that stupid witch none of this would be happening right now, I thought angrily to myself. I wouldn't be cold, hungry, or lost in these stupid woods. I wouldn't be tired or sore from walking nonstop. I wouldn't have any of the _lovely _scratches or blisters that now adorned my arms, legs, and feet. Instead I would be snug, warm, and safe as I slept soundly in my bed.

_My bed_. I could cry. I wanted to cry. I shouldn't even be here right now, I should be there. There, at home in my bedroom, wrapped up tightly in my 101 Dalmatians comforter and snuggling into my matching pillow set.

And yet, where was I? Hm, let me think. Oh, that's right. I was out in the middle of freaking nowhere and lost in a bloody forest, that's where! And it was all thanks to that damn witch! God, if it wasn't for her and her _brilliant_, "magic spell," I wouldn't even be here!

"UHG!" I hastily stood up and kicked at one of the smaller rocks that was nearest to me, imagining it to be the witch's ugly little head. This of course, was not one of my smartest moves. One, because the rock was hard as hell. And two, because I wasn't wearing any shoes. You'd think I would have remembered that...

I yelped out as a hot searing pain shot up through the tips of my toes and traveled all the way up my leg. Yeah, definitely not one of my smarter moves. I winced, biting down on my lower lip to choke back a sob as I glanced down at my now throbbing foot. I think I broke a toe...or two.

I collapsed to the ground, quickly and gently bringing my foot up to cradle it in my lap. I tenderly poked at a now swelling toe and hissed through my teeth as the pain seemed to flare up there. An attempt at wriggling my toes had also gotten the same effect. Yup, one of my toes was most definitely broken. _Fantastic_. It figures, the first bone I break and it's my damn toe and it was all thanks to a damn witch. Go figure.

My momentary depression was broken by a voice chuckling from behind me. "You know, there's a better way to get material stone than kicking at the rocks."

I swiveled around quickly, my neck cracking slightly from the sudden move. There, leaning with his elbows propped up and wearing an obnoxious grin on his face, stood a man where I had just been sitting prior. I glanced up at him wearily, wondering when the heck he had even gotten there. I hadn't heard him approach, at all. That was a little more than unnerving...

The man just laughed again, his laughter booming loudly as it echoed throughout the surrounding trees. "Even I know that." His golden eyes (did everyone around here have them or something?) locked with mine, the laughter in them quickly fading and concern filling in its place as he took in my ragged appearance and cradled foot. His eyebrows furrowed as he frowned, "Hey, are you ok?"

I wanted to retaliate with, "Did I _look _ok?" I knew I was being a whiny bitch, but I just couldn't help it. Because obviously, no, I wasn't ok. That much was only plain to see. My feet and toes hurt like hell and I was beyond tired. The fact that I was still fighting to get warm after being plunged into a freezing cold swamp and thoroughly **soaked **also did nothing to help my already sour mood.

But seeing the genuine concern that sat in the man's eyes stopped me from voicing my thoughts out loud, and instead I bit my tongue and held back the sarcastic remark that was resting at the tip of it. There was a good chance that this guy could help me out, and I for one, was not going to mess up the opportunity of getting that chance.

Sighing, I glanced down at my foot before wincing. "Um...not really." A few of my toes were bruising up quite nicely while another toe, the one I managed to break with that idiotic kick, seemed to just keep on swelling. Which was just _fabulous_...

Biting back another groan, I turned to look back up at the guy before gesturing to my cradled foot. "I kind of...broke my toe with that kick..."

He snorted, hastily coughing into his hand to cover up a laugh.

I bowed my head, fighting down the urge to glare up at him as my face began heating up.

Yeah, laugh it up buddy. I already knew it was a stupid thing to do, ok?

"Why'd you go and do that anyways?" He asked once he got over his, "_coughing_."

I shrugged a little, sighing. "I got lost in here and it finally got to me...I got mad." Sighing, I absent mindly began rubbing my tender foot. The thought of getting caught in the act of rock kicking and toe breaking had my face once again heating up. I scowled to myself, embarrassed, before continuing. "And then I kind of forgot that I wasn't wearing any shoes. Which, as you saw, led to me kicking a rock and breaking my toe." I tried to give him a somewhat reassuring smile on my end but it probably came out more like a grimace.

Of course, help would manage to come _after _I had made a fool of myself. That's just how the world worked I supposed. Well, in my case anyways.

The guy chuckled, before lending me a hand, which I gratefully took as he hoisted me up.

"Thanks." I grunted, awkwardly hobbling around before I finally managed to find some balance on my one leg.

He shrugged, "No problem." His golden cat like eyes found mine again and he asked, "What are you doing out this early in Fugue Forest anyways? I didn't think I'd run into anyone else in this crazy place. Not at this time of day anyways. It's too early for most folks." He grinned before eagerly peering closer at me, causing me to take a wobbled step back. _Too close_.

He waited for an answer and I fidgeted.

Would he even believe me if I told him the truth? If I told him that a witch had brought me here with a, "_spell_?" Hell, I barely believed it! I took another brief glance at him, and averted my eyes guiltily when I saw the curious look mirrored in his own. How could I tell him the truth? He'd probably escort me straight to the loony bin if I did!

Sighing, I gave him a small shrug. I went with leaving the witch out of the story completely, it was probably my best bet. "I'm not really sure, I was looking for a farm." Or was it a ranch? Damn that witch, she could have at least been a tad bit more specific. "I don't really know how I ended up here..." I felt a little guilty for lying to him, he had seemed like a nice enough guy. But niceness or not, there was no way I was getting sent to a mental institution.

"Oh!" Realization seemed to dawn on him and another grin stretched across his face. "You must be here to see Jack's farm!" He stated excitedly, throwing an arm around my shoulders before practically squeezing me into him.

Well, I was **not **expecting that.

Awkwardly, I pried myself away from him and put a good few feet of distance between the two us before giving him a small nod. "Uh, yeah." That must have been the farm that the witch had been talking about. Or at least I hoped it was. Then again, at this point anywhere was good enough for me. I just wanted out of this horrible forest.

"Well, it's a good thing I found you then, huh?" Still grinning he moved forward and threw his arm back around me, again.

I flinched. He was...touchy. Too touchy. I eyed him wearily. This had better not become a habit of his. I didn't like being touched. Or hugged for that matter. Especially when I didn't even know the person hugging me. It was kind of awkward and a bit uncomfortable to say the least.

He just continued talking animatedly, ignoring my feeble attempts at loosening myself from his grasp. "We'll have to get you down to see the Mayor then!" Another squeeze. "He's gonna be totally psyched to see you!"

I blinked frowning up at him. He was? Alrighty then.

I nearly grinned to myself as I was finally let out from his grip, only to yelp out a second later as I was suddenly spun around and being examined by the clingy man.

He had grabbed my calf, lifting it up to look it over. I would have fallen flat on my back had he not placed a hand there to steady me. "How bad is your foot? Do you think you can handle walking on it till we make it out of here?" He asked, poking at my swollen toes. "They don't look so good. This one," he poked the broken one, making me grunt and earning himself a smack to the hand. He just chuckled, the cheeky bastard. "This one," he continued. "Looks extremely bad. We'll have to have the Doc take a look at it after we talk to the Mayor."

It looked so bad because that was the broken toe. With it being broken it would obviously look bad. Though I did have to agree with him, it did look pretty...well, **not **pretty.

Sighing, I eyed the suspended foot, wriggling the toes slowly to see just how bad they were compared to how they were only a few minutes ago. The pain was obviously still there and it still hurt like a bitch, but I would live. It really was only the one toe and I was sure that I could manage walking just fine. I would just keep as much pressure off of it as I could. Really, what else could I do? I needed to get out of here so I could find some way back home.

Nodding in answer, I pulled my leg out of his grasp and placed it gently back down onto the ground. I took a few cautious steps forward, testing out the weight and the pressure that I could put onto my legs before letting out a sigh of relief. I would be able to make it out of here, I just had to be careful and take my time.

"If it gets too bad let me know and I'll carry you or something, ok?" He offered before reaching out and grabbing me by the arm to pull me back towards him before I could wander off own my own (like I would have, I didn't want to get even more turned around in this place.) "Come on," he gave my arm a tug, pulling me along with him as he began to walk. "The way out's this way!" He flashed me a grin. "It shouldn't take us more then half an hour or so to get out of here."

A half an hour? Are you serious? I was only a half an hour away from escaping this horrible forest? If it weren't for the fact that I had already broken a toe, I'd probably take another kick at a rock. Just to take my anger out on something. Maybe that witch wasn't the only one around here that needed a course in anger management...

Seeing the disbelieving look on my face only caused the cat eyed man to let out another bark of laughter. "Come on," he urged again, his smile never wavering from his face. "You'll love Castanet."

I frowned to myself.

Castanet...

Why did that sound so familiar?


	4. Chapter Three

**Paopu-Destinies: **Wow seriously, I never write this fast OAO and I surely did not think that I would finish this chapter so quickly xD But yeah so, here's Chapter Three, I hope you enjoy it C:

**Special Thanks to: Perminatly Lost In Thought** for subscribing to my story, it really means a lot to me ;;u;; so thank you!~

**Disclaimer: **I do **not** own Harvest Moon: Animal Parade or any of their characters, plots, or all that good stuff...sadly QAQ thoughIwishIdid. All I own is my OC Kandace and the idea to this story.

Enjoy~

* * *

**Chapter Three**

As it turns out, the clingy cat eyed man; who had earlier introduced himself to me as Luke, was right, much to me and my aching feet's relief. And we were out of that forest within a good half an hour. That witch on the other hand, well, her estimates on how far away this farm _really _was from the forest were way off. It had taken both Luke and I a little over two hours to get all the way from the forest to the farm, albeit stopping for a few breaks here and there to rest my sore feet.

Though, truth be told, it had probably taken us a bit longer to get to the farm because I found myself stopping every few feet to openly stare at all of the beautiful scenery that seemed to surround us. I just couldn't help myself. Everything here was just so _green_ and lush. It was a refreshing sight. God, it had even _smelt_ wonderful.

Now, I had grown up in a more rural part of town myself but well, it was _nothing_ compared to this place. Nothing here seemed to be touched by the harmful pollution that ate away at most places. And it was just...lively. Even without seeing the hustle and bustle of people and children in the area, everything here just looked and felt _alive_. It was kind of a big contrast compared to back home where everything was pretty dull and lifeless.

Sure, our plant life could be considered somewhat lush and beautiful when it wanted to be, but it was almost constantly being drowned out by ignorant people with their scattered trash and unwanted items. People back home had absolutely no regards to nature or to the wildlife.

But here, I had to smile.

Here in Castanet everything was just _vibrant_. Vibrant and _clean_; from what I've seen so far anyways. It made me wonder how they managed it. Extreme recycling maybe?

"Hey," I was jostled out from my train of thoughts by my arm being lightly shaken. "Let's find you some place to sit down." Luke didn't wait for my response and instead began dragging me by the arm over and closer towards the farmhouse.

"I could have sat down where we were..." I muttered lowly, not that it mattered; I was still being dragged away...

"Yeah," he chuckled, tossing me a grin from over his shoulder. "And you would have been sitting right in the middle of the road."

Oh, I blinked. I knew that.

He just laughed before dragging me over to sit on the farmhouse's porch. The farmhouse was...well, I looked up at it briefly with a grimace. It was in _horrible _shape. Not only was it dirty but it was also littered with weeds, pieces of broken glass, stray bricks, old potters, and scraps of old beaten up wood.

Glancing wearily up at the roof, I noticed that it was in just as bad of a condition...if not worse. The faded red paint seemed to be chipping off in a lot of places, or paint was just missing from parts of the roof in general. It also didn't help that there were tons of holes scattered every which way, with planks of wood dangling down or sticking up at odd angles.

The cat eyed bluenette glanced over at me, frowning when he saw the grimace that had made its way to my face. "Yeah," he awkwardly rubbed at the back of his neck as he also turned to look at the disheveled farmhouse. He frowned, "I don't know what's been up with the weather around here recently, but we've been getting hit on by some _extreme_ freak storms." He gestured blindly to the house. "As you can see, they've been causing some real damage."

"No kidding." I murmured. I glanced over at him. "So how come this, '_Jack_,' guy hasn't fixed the place up yet? This is his home and his farm isn't it?"

"It was, but Jack left Castanet like...a few months ago?" He answered with a shrug. "Apparently this old guy that he was friends with died. They used to like...write letters and crap to each other but the old man stopped writing. That's when Jack left," he explained. "He packed up most of his stuff here and grabbed the first boat outta here, booking it straight to Mineral Town. Hamilton; our mayor, got a letter from Jack about a week later saying that he was gonna stay down there in Mineral Town to run and take care of the old man's farm. Said the old man had left the place to him in his will, or something...something like that."

"Oh."

"Jack was lucky though," he continued. "He got out of here before the shit really started hitting the fan." He looked down at the ground, a small frown settling on his face as he scuffed his feet around in the dirt. "After he left, things around here just started going downhill. First, it was the land; the soil...it just started to go bad I guess." He gave another shrug. "Craig and Ruth's farm hasn't been doing so well since. They say that the soil just isn't what it used to be."

"Then the animals at Cain's Ranch started getting fussy and irritable. Our island's fire doesn't seem to be working full speed anymore, ol'Ramsey's been cussin' up a storm since, 'cause he can't get any business with his furnace not heating up enough." He let out a small snicker at that. "And with all these freak storms happening none of the boats have been able to come in. It's crazy, right?" He turned to ask me. "All this happening so suddenly? It's like the island is slowly shutting itself down, or something." He sniffed, swiping at his nose. "It's got all the townsfolk depressed an'stuff."

"That is crazy..." I murmured quietly. I didn't blame the poor townsfolk for being depressed. The way that Luke put it...it just, it sounded horrible. The animals acting up and the soil's quality going down sucked and all, but at least the farm and ranch owners could still plant things and raise and sell their livestock. But with the fire acting up and with the boats not being able to come into the mainland...now _that_ could really put a damper on things. It could even force some people out of business should it get bad enough.

"Anyways, enough depressing talk." He quickly opted to change the subject, sending me another grin, albeit a small one. He gestured to the porch, "Let's try and get some off this crap cleaned off so you can have some where to sit."

I gave him a small nod and we quickly set to work. While I had busied myself with picking up stray bricks and empty potters, Luke had somehow conjured up a broom and a dustpan, (Maybe they were in the old farmhouse? The heck if I knew, but it would have explained where he had seemingly disappeared to only a few minutes ago...) And I watched as he swept up the scattered pieces of broken glass and any pieces of broken pottery.

After deeming the porch clean and safe enough, he turned to glance down at me, his chin held deftly in one hand and the broom and the dustpan in the other. "It would probably be best if the Mayor and the Doc came here…" He stared pointedly down at my battered, swollen foot with a slight grimace. "That foot of yours ain't looking too hot."

I nodded. I wasn't arguing with that.

Glancing up at him I asked, "Are you going to call and see if they can come down here?"

"Nah," he shook his head, his dark blue bangs swaying slightly as he did so. "The electricity ain't running in Jack's old place, hasn't been since he left. 'Sides," he cackled. "I doubt the guy even owned a phone to begin with; I mean _come on_, he wrote freaking _letters_. Letters!" He snorted.

I just shook my head, a small smile tugging at my lips. He was horrible. "So, how are you planning on getting them to come down here then?"

"I'll just run into town and go get'em. No biggie." He answered with a small shrug and a grin.

"How long will it take you?" It had taken us a good two hours just to get here to the farm, (though I was probably to blame for that.) How much longer would it take him to get to the town? I mean, I hadn't seen it on our way here to the farm, and I couldn't see it here _from_ the farm, so it had to be a good ways out...

He shrugged again, arms behind his head. "Dunno, maybe an hour or two? It won't take _me_ long to get there and back, but the Doc' and the mayor on the other hand," he grinned, his golden eyes glinting mischievously. "Well, I can't speak for how long it may take _them_."

Laughing and shaking my head, I grinned up at him. "Well if it will take them **that** long to get back here, then what are _you_ still doing here?"

"You make a good point." He chuckled, still grinning. "Don't be too bored while I'm gone," he winked before turning to jog down the walkway. "And stay off that foot!" He called from over his shoulder.

Psh, like I would even dream of it.

My ass wasn't budging from this spot, bro.

I watched as he made his way back down to the road, smiling to myself I watched as his flamed bandana bounced and bobbled with each step that he took as he jogged slowly out of my view before managing to completely disappear from my sight all together. I hoped that it wouldn't take him to long to bring back the Doctor and the Mayor. I glanced down at my throbbing foot; I could _really_ go for some Vicodin or some good pain killers right now. Just saying.

Letting out a small sigh, I gently brought my foot up and began to lightly massage it, being careful not to press to hard around my swollen toes or around any of the blisters that I had accumulated from my walk, and took this free time to take a good look around at the rest of the farmland.

Not to far away from the house was a little shack, which was in no better condition then the farmhouse, sadly. Its roof was in the same poor shape as the farmhouse's roof. And then a few feet away from the little shack there was a bigger...shack?- I squinted- ...maybe? Or it was a barn? Or...was supposed to be one? Whatever it was, it looked just as shabby. For Jack's animal's sake, I **hoped** that it wasn't a barn. The poor things shouldn't have to live in _that_.

With a shudder, I turned my gaze away from the ruddy shacks and down to the front of the house. There was a small, but decent sized plot of land where a few pink leaved trees were growing. Cherry blossoms maybe? They _did _have pink leaves...

Also scattered around in the plot were a few...vegetables, fruits? Maybe flowers? Well, I didn't really know _what_ they were for sure. The closest thing to a vegetable or any plants in general that I had ever seen grow had been a measly patch of strawberries that my grandparents had planted in the backyard of their home. And an avocado seedling...sort of. It had been one of my third grade projects but it...had kind of died... Apparently you **can** over water a seedling...even if said seedling needed to **sit** in a glass full of water to grow in the first place. Needless to say, I had _failed_ that project.

So basically, I had no idea what the heck was being grown in the field. All I knew for sure was that stuff was growing, and that it looked to be...thriving...somewhat. I mean...none of it was black or brown...so, it had to be somewhat healthy...right? Yeah...

Across from the little plot of land there was a small stream that seemed to stretch across the farmland before passing around another small plot of soil and then depositing into a big pond. There was also another little building near the stream that had a waterwheel that was attached to it from the backside. It looked to be running off of the little stream's water.

Glancing a little ways past the pond I noticed a dusty dirt path that seemingly curved around the pond. I followed the dusty trail with my eyes until it disappeared around a bend, the path twisting off to lead somewhere up into the mountains.

Taking all of the farmland in, it made me wonder; what were they planning to do with the place now that Jack was gone? Would they just let it go to waste? Would they use it? Despite the fact that the farmhouse and the surrounding buildings were run down and in desperate, _desperate_ need of a good makeover, the place was pretty...homey, and peaceful. It would be a shame if they let it go to waste.

Well, whatever they did with it, all I could hope for was that it was put to good use and left with someone who would actually take care of the place. 'Cause I would hate to see such a beautiful farmland go to waste. This place truly had a lot of potential.

Sighing, I stretched myself out across the porch, folding my arms in my lap before leaning to rest my back up against the side of the house. The hours that I had spent trekking through the forest and then walking to the farm were finally catching up to me and taking its toll. My eyes drifted closed easily. A little nap wouldn't hurt, and it would surely make the time till Luke came back with the others go by a lot quicker, that was for sure. And with that thought, I let the gentle breeze lull me to sleep with its soothing melody; the distant sound of bells tinkling in the back of my mind as I drifted out of consciousness...


End file.
